Before and After
by KuraiArcoiris
Summary: It is not unusual for a person to judge their lives before and after a person or event, and for Tsuna, that person and event is definitely Reborn. Sentences on the difference before and after.
1. A Contrast in Circumstances

1._ Introduction_

Before: Dame-Tsuna never needed an introduction; he was Dame-Tsuna, that kid who always failed at everything, the nobody, the no-good loser. What else was there to know?

After: Tsuna wondered what Reborn exactly told the strange people who kept popping out of nowhere since they all acted as if they knew who Tsuna was (heir to Vongola aside), but when the hitman introduced the teen to Dr. Shamal as "Tsuna with the Skull Disease," Tsuna thought that maybe the hitman gave people the most basic explanation and let them figure out the rest.

2. _Love_

Before: For Tsuna, love was the flutter in his chest when he saw Kyoko walk by and her unreachable world passed unknowingly by his hopelessly low one.

After: A heavy feeling welled up in the small brunette's chest as he watched those surrounding him instead of the bright fireworks and marveled at the fact that they were close enough for him to feel their warmth.

3. _Light_

Before: Grumbling, Tsuna rolled over and away from the invading sunshine that beckoned the boy to live another day.

After: He leaned against the bike exhausted, careful not to jolt the hitman who had once again decided that Tsuna's head was a seat, and watched the last rays disappear beyond the horizon with a quiet wish that the sun would remain above the horizon a bit longer.

4._ Dark_

Before: As a child, Tsuna had been scared of many things, but the darkness had never been one because it hid the small brunette away so well.

After: When the light of the flashlight gave out and several of the group yelled in frustration and fear, more than one hand clasped onto Tsuna.

5. _Seeking Solace_

Before: The blanket covered his head, and Tsuna waited until he could hear his mother's footsteps fade before he turned his face into the pillow and closed his eyes tight enough to keep the tears from staining the cloth.

After: Tsuna gazed at the floor to keep his two best friends from noticing the frustration prickling the edges of his eyes, but Yamamoto's voice made Tsuna's head shoot back up as the baseball player suggested they take the day off from school and hang out instead.

6. _Break Away_

Before: Quietly, he leaned the broom against the wall of the janitor's closet and slipped down the hallways, knowing from experience that no one would notice if he went home.

After: Tsuna dodged the tonfa and ran as fast as he could back into the classroom where he was greeted enthusiastically by Yamamoto which made Gokudera's greeting even more deafening than usual, and the kick that "helped" him into the classroom cemented the fact that he couldn't get out of going to school today, shots or no shots.

7._ Heaven_

Before: Tsuna stared blankly at the sky outside his window and saw nothing but blue stretching away for miles.

After: Sneaking out of his room (though Reborn no doubt knew what Tsuna was doing), Tsuna jogged a couple of blocks before reaching the quiet park and taking out his gloves and pills to soar in the sky and try to touch the stars.

8. _Innocence_

Before: Tsuna knew that there were good guys and bad guys, and when he had been much younger he had dreamed of becoming a giant robot and protecting his mother from the bad guys; he knew better now.

After: There were people, ones who made wrong choices and ones who made right choices, and Tsuna could only protect those he held dear while praying he was one of those who made right choices.

9._ Drive_

Before: The big red oval on the top of the paper mocked Tsuna, but its effect had long since worn off; it wasn't as if it was the first time he had seen such a mark.

After: The test sat oh so innocently on Tsuna's desk with scribbles and numbers that barely made any sense; Tsuna glared at the paper and grabbed his pencil because he was _not_ going to go through another of Reborn's remedial lessons.

10. _Breathe Again_

Before: The kind man patted Tsuna's back and asked if the little boy was okay as Tsuna took deep gasping breaths, never ever wanting to go back to that terribly salty evil water ever again.

After: "Tsuna, let's go to the beach this weekend," said Nana in the middle of dinner prompting Gokudera to declare that he would make this trip to the beach better for the tenth than the last, Yamamoto to smile and say that it would be fun to go back, Lambo to whine that he wanted to go too, I-pin to ask if she could see the beach, Bianchi to say that it would be a good chance to get some new ingredients, and Reborn to smirk knowingly; Tsuna couldn't refuse and found his breath wasn't the slightest bit erratic.

11. _Memory_

Before: Tsuna curled into a ball, knowing from past experience that it was the best way to avoid damage as the bullies kicked him again and again.

After: That strange dark man was right; Tsuna should have remembered that his body didn't matter to him as much as his family, and he would take as many punches to the stomach as he needed to help out even the most sadistic member of his family.

12._ Insanity_

Before: Tsuna had seen people laugh and joke and make general fools of themselves with their friends, and he didn't know if he was envious or glad that he would never have to embarrass himself in such a manner.

After: As Gokudera pulled out his dynamite and threatened a grinning Yamamoto, Tsuna quickly got between the two only to scream as Mukuro appeared from nowhere and made the dynamites into snakes that proceeded to crawl on Tsuna and then yell at Hibari to stop as the prefect attacked the illusionist, and when Adult Lambo ran from behind the corner with Bianchi giving chase, Tsuna nearly broke down in frustration; these people were going to drive him into the restrained embrace of a white jacket.

13._ Misfortune_

Before: Every game, every exam, every activity Tsuna failed confirmed his firmly held belief that Life hated him.

After: When a sadistic, evil baby tutor came to tortu—train Tsuna, Tsuna's firm belief seemed to be once again confirmed, but Tsuna started to doubt that belief as the chaos in his life began to be something he couldn't do without.

14._ Smile_

Before: Nana tried to tell her husband that she was worried about Tsuna because while their little boy had a very expressive face, she could not remember the last time she saw him smile.

After: "Is Dame-Tsuna smiling?" asked one of the 2-A students as the supposedly no-good brunette listened to the baseball idol of the class describe his very first baseball game.

15. _Silence_

Before: Wordlessly, Tsuna grabbed his school shoes and walked home as those around him filled his ears with unintelligible chatter.

After: Chrome stared at her boss as he stood in front of her waiting for a reply to his inquiries, ready and willing to listen to whatever she wanted to say.

16._ Questioning_

Before: One good thing about Dame-Tsuna, his teachers agreed, was that he never questioned them or their authority; too bad the boy couldn't learn anything if his life depended on it.

After: "Where in the world is there a home tutor who uses bombs whenever a student makes a mistake?" demanded Tsuna as he determined to learn the stupid formulas before the sadistic baby ended up killing him.

17. _Blood_

Before: The sight of blood didn't faze Tsuna because he had enough injuries that the sight had become too common to be shocking.

After: At the red dripping down Lambo's arm, Tsuna panicked and ran inside the house fumbling through the closet until he found the first aid kit and bandaged the cut the Bovino had gotten from trying to attack Reborn with a knife again.

18._ Rainbow_

Before: When the teacher asked what Tsuna's favorite color was, Tsuna said black because it didn't get so dirty when he fell.

After: Tsuna watched his self-proclaimed right hand man practice using his CIA system with interest, enjoying the different colors that Gokudera could produce using his flames.

19. _Gray_

Before: The gray sky worried Tsuna, so the boy decided to go home before he became drenched.

After: Tsuna hurried through the crowd as the rain began to splatter on the ground and dashed into the school thankfully making it before the rain drenched his two companions; he wished Yamamoto and Gokudera wouldn't try to hand them his umbrellas every time it started to rain.

20. _Fortitude_

Before: Tsuna tripped, and he bit back a cry, wishing his feet would quit tripping over each other and causing him unnecessary pain.

After: The feeling of every bone forcing themselves back into place had Tsuna mentally screaming, but Tsuna kept his mouth shut and let the more gentle and strengthening warmth flow through him so that he could get up and finish this.

21._ Vacation_

Before: Nana wanted to take a vacation from everything, her house, her kitchen, and even her son, but in the end, she loved her son too much to do such a thing, and it wasn't as if she dare take him anywhere.

After: When Reborn surprised her with the tickets to that cruise to a place called Mafia Land, she didn't think twice about it; Reborn would be there as would Tsuna's friends, and Tsuna had grown so much under Reborn's guidance.

22. _Mother Nature_

Before: Tsuna conveniently lost every permission slip for field trips headed up into the mountains, or the country, or the forests, or anywhere wild really, because he met with enough nature in the city in the form of bees and dogs and evil hamsters who took every opportunity to torment him.

After: As Tsuna lay in his orange sleeping bag which lay in between his two best friends' red and blue ones, he found his vision of the stars fading as his eyelids fell and his consciousness quietly slipped away to the sound of buzzing cicadas.

23. _Cat_

Before: As the cat gave Tsuna an uninterested glance, Tsuna's small smile faded, and the small brunette went back to playing with his blocks; at least the cat hadn't tried to hurt him.

After: Uri raked Gokudera's face leaving new red lines on the pale angry face as the bomber pried the box animal off, and Tsuna sighed and brought out Natsu so that the lion cub could distract the cat from clawing Tsuna's right hand man long enough for the bomber to get Uri back into its box; Tsuna made sure to give Natsu an extra pat for being such a sweet tempered feline.

24._ Trouble Lurking_

Before: Shutting the door behind him, Tsuna slumped as the ridiculously heavy feeling finally left him alone as it only did when he stepped inside his house.

After: As soon as he saw Reborn's face, the heaviness plaguing him all morning eased, and Tsuna wondered if maybe he should get his head checked.

25. _No Time_

Before: "You do it, Dame-Tsuna," said one of the boys on Tsuna's team as he thrust another broom at the bewildered brunette, "It's not like we have the time to clean up your mess."

After: The kitchen was a disaster, and as the clock on the wall mockingly reminded him of the time, Tsuna wished he hadn't let Lambo and I-pin "help" him make _Mamma's_ birthday cake and quickly bent down to clean the mess only to stop as small hands grabbed the rag he was using and determined green and brown eyes met his; he smiled as even more hands began to clear away the mess and left him to decorate what was left of the cake.


	2. What was Before and is Now

26. _Stars_

Before: One of Tsuna's elementary teachers tried to explain to Tsuna that the sun was a star and that only distance made the night's stars shine less in the sky than the sun, but Tsuna couldn't see how those little lights could compare to the large sun that warmed him every day.

After: Tsuna waved reluctantly at his dad as the man left, but with a quick glance at his tutor, Tsuna realized that his mother wasn't entirely wrong when she said that Iemitsu had gone off to become a star.

27. _Foreign_

Before: From time to time, Tsuna had seen them wandering around the streets, speaking strange sounds and talking too loud and moving differently from everyone else, and the small brunette would continue to watch them with a confused frustration.

After: Fuuta took Tsuna's hand and chattered on and on about Lambo and I-pin, sometimes slipping into Italian in his excitement, and taking steps that almost bounced as the young boy hung off Tsuna's hand, and Tsuna pretended to understand everything Fuuta was telling the young mafia boss because Tsuna almost could.

28. _Breaking the Rules_

Before: Most people in Namimori Middle wouldn't dream of skipping class or being late on a daily basis for fear of attracting the attention of Namimori's most feared citizen, but Tsuna didn't worry about the head prefect; he fell way below Hibari's radar.

After: Nursing the huge bump on his head, Tsuna wished that Hibari would pick on some other group that was breaking the rules because no matter which of Tsuna's friends was causing the trouble Tsuna was always the one that ended up on the wrong end of Hibari's wrath.

29. _Under the Rain_

Before: On his eighth birthday, Tsuna lay on the muddy ground where the bullies had left him; his arm, leg, and side hurt, and he would be late for his mom's birthday cake.

After: The rain splattered on the window, and Tsuna stared at the water pour down the glass until Lambo and I-pin ran in to his room and dragged him downstairs to show him the surprises they made for him.

30. _Sorrow_

Before: The sobs coming from the next room made Tsuna drag himself out of bed and quietly make his way to his mother's room, where she waited with a tight embrace and rivers of tears for the man that she insisted Tsuna call father.

After: Tsuna idly considered just this once defying the demon known as his tutor and taking the consequences because he didn't want to write to that man, but he gave the idea no further thought because it had been months since sobs had sounded through the wall.

31. _Flowers_

Before: Tsuna had brought his mother three squished white flowers to make her smile, but he fell and crushed them before she could see them.

After: Carefully, Tsuna snuck into the house with a single flower wrapped in plastic for his mom's party, but he tripped over the bottom step and nearly fell on the flower if not for Reborn's kick to his stomach.

32. _Night_

Before: Gasping, Tsuna opened his eyes wide and took in all the dark could tell him, lifting his hands up to check that his hands were both visible and not red.

After: Rubbing the back of his head, Tsuna half-heartedly glared at his tutor, because the kick had hurt, but he couldn't remember the dream-_nightmare_-he had been having.

33. _Expectations_

Before: Tsuna didn't swing, didn't stretch out to catch the ball, didn't strain to get to first base, and the other students on his team didn't bother with those things either; Tsuna's team always lost.

After: Heads knocked together, arms created a circle, four voices called as one, and the cry reverberated through Tsuna as they walked away revealing six faces that didn't show any doubt that Tsuna could and would win.

34. _Childhood_

Before: The other kids ran around the park, climbing anything within reach, but Tsuna stayed beside his mother no matter what Nana tried; Nana didn't understand that Tsuna wasn't going out where he would end up hurt and alone.

After: Bianchi knew her little brother had no true childhood, too busy trying to impress his father and then running away, so the way Hayato's eyes lit up with enjoyment of the Vongola snowball fights and beach parties and festivals made sense, but the similar gleam that appeared in Tsuna's eyes once the young Vongola allowed himself to have fun and stop worrying over details didn't.

35. _Hold My Hand_

Before: Tentatively, Tsuna reached out to take Kenta's hand like the teacher said, because Kenta didn't have a buddy too, but Kenta looked scared to take Tsuna's hand, so Tsuna pulled it back.

After: The anguish, pain, reflected in her eyes had Tsuna reaching out and grabbing Uni before he could fully form the thought, because he couldn't leave her alone.

36. _Precious Treasure_

Before: When the teacher called Sawada Tsunayoshi up to show what he had brought, she wasn't very surprised to see a little boy with red-rimmed eyes come up with nothing but new scratches and dirt all over him, but what could she expect from such a clumsy, forgetful child?

After: "Boss, aren't you worried that the thieves might have stolen something important?" asked Chrome as the teams raked through the wreckage that had been the Vongola Decimo's office, and she blushed when Tsuna replied that what he treasured had escaped.

37. _Eyes_

Before: Tsuna didn't like meeting people's eyes because Tsuna didn't want to see what was there.

After: When asked his favorite color, Tsuna never knew what to say because somewhere along the line many colors had become favorites: light hazel, deep green, lime green, jade green, steel gray, bright grey, deep indigo, dark purple and bright red, amber, dark brown, warm brown, and even jet black, so Tsuna was glad that people generally didn't get to ask that question before one of his guardians interrupted.

38. _Abandoned_

Before: The cat meowed pitifully as the man left it in the cage and then looked pleadingly at Tsuna, but when Tsuna opened the cage and picked it up, it bit and scratched and ran the minute Tsuna let it go, straight into a car's path; Tsuna went home and cleaned the cuts and scratches and tried not to think about how he could have held on harder.

After: After five minutes in Gokudera's apartment, Tsuna started figuring out how he could convince his self-proclaimed right hand man to move into the Sawada's spare bedroom despite Bianchi's presence because Tsuna wasn't taking no for an answer.

39. _Dreams_

Before: "So you want to be a robot?" asked the teacher in a way that let Tsuna know he had done something wrong, but since Mama said it was bad, Tsuna didn't lie.

After: Reborn could have said a lot about his no-good student, but one thing the hitman would never admit he valued in the boy was the simplicity of his student's dreams, dreams to protect his family (though Tsuna would never call them that) and to enjoy their happiness no matter what the cost.

40. _Rated_

Before: The students of class 5-B whispered and reassured themselves that no matter how bad they did they would not take the unwanted position of last in the class ranking since that place was reserved for Dame-Tsuna and Dame-Tsuna alone.

After: Fuuta smiled as he recorded the ranking for best big brothers ever and placed Tsuna at the top.

41. _Teamwork_

Before: The ball flew up in the air, and Tsuna tried to catch it, but he had thrown it too far so the ball landed and rolled away from the game's only player.

After: "It's me, tenth. My spy work is done, so I'll return to your side," said Gokudera, his hands full of dynamite and entirely too serious for a snowball fight, and Tsuna didn't understand why the bomber insisted on switching over to the losing side.

42. _Standing Still_

Before: Tsuna stood frozen before the ferocious, barking Chihuahua, unable to move until his mother chased the yapping dog out of the backyard.

After: At first, Tsuna's firm stance hid the shaking shoulders and terrified expression from Kyoko's notice, but once Kyoko saw them, she knew he wouldn't move.

43. _Dying_

Before: Marima's words echoed through Tsuna's head as the ten year old wrapped his blanket around his head tighter, because Tsuna didn't want to die, even if it would make the world better for everyone else.

After: With one last smile for his two best friends, Tsuna walked into the meeting with Byakuran and prepared to face the worst case scenario.

44. _Two Roads_

Before: Skipping the last three periods, Tsuna walked down the two streets to his house slowly so he wouldn't have to explain to his mother why he was coming home so early.

After: Gokudera and Yamamoto had longer strides, so Tsuna subtly had trouble keeping up some times, but he never asked them to slow down because he knew they were already walking slower than normal.

45. _Illusion_

Before: When people weren't making fun of Tsuna, they pretended he wasn't there until he really wasn't.

After: For a man who didn't have any mist flames, Mukuro thought the Vongola Decimo did an excellent job of hiding in plain sight.

46. _Family_

Before: "You can't play with us," said the one of the two boys, "because this is for brothers and you don't have one because no one wants to be Dame-Tsuna's brother."

After: Sometimes, Dino was jealous of Tsuna's sun guardian because Tsuna actually called the Sasagawa boy "big brother."

47. _Creation_

Before: Sighing, the judge gave the lopsided stick house a score of 4 without listening to the Sawada boy's explanation of how it had a basement and secret passageways and rooms underground full of toys.

After: Reborn expected Tsuna to get lost in the complicated base the boy's future self had built, but surprisingly Tsuna had no trouble navigating it.

48. _Tears_

Before: Strange, for a boy who blubbered so often when he was little, Nana couldn't remember the last time Tsuna cried.

After: Yamamoto wanted to ask Tsuna where the small brunette learned to cry without tears.

49. _Stripes_

Before: Of all the insults thrown in Tsuna's direction, the one that bothered him the least was "short," because when you're a complete failure, things like how you look don't really matter.

After: Staring at the pinstripe suit, Tsuna considered saying "no," but Haru rambled on about how vertical stripes would make him look taller and more imposing, so Tsuna decided not to bother trying to refuse.

50. _Happiness_

Before: Tsuna found himself smiling at the thought that Kyoko had looked in his direction the one time he had managed to finally jump the third level of the jumping horse.

After: Gokudera got into another argument with Yamamoto when they passed Hibari who quickly whipped out a tonfa, and Tsuna barely dodged the prefect's attack only to have Ryohei nearly run the small brunette over and then fall to the ground as Reborn randomly kicked the small brunette in the head; wondering if he was going insane for the hundred time, Tsuna found himself smiling and reassuring the others that he was fine.


End file.
